The weather finally cooperated on Thursday in Rio de Janeiro with all of the second round matches at the Rio Open completed. The quarterfinals are now set with the top two seeds battling through.
Nadal Inches Closer to Another Rio Final
Top seed Rafael Nadal overcame some late jitters and benefited from some close line calls to defeat red-hot Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the quarterfinals. Nadal was solid through the first set and a half, before a wild finish saw Almagro fight back late before errors got the better of him. The top seed was under pressure early, saving a pair of break points in the opening game. He responded quickly, grabbing a break and holding on to claim the opening set. The second set would feature plenty of breaks of serve as Nadal found himself on the winning end. Check out the full recap of today's Nadal-Almagro match.
Defending Champ Bounces Back After Dropping Opening Set
In another all-Spanish affair, reigning champion David Ferrer was forced to fight back against Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Ferrer battled to a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory. Ferrer started slowly on serve, winning just over 50 percent of his service points in the opening set and being broken twice. Ramos-Vinolas was far stronger, winning 83 percent of his first serve points and saving two of three break chances. The second seed immediately turned the momentum around in the second set, not allowing his countryman a single break point opportunity. Ferrer would win over half of the points off Ramos' serve, including a pair of breaks. The deciding set was closer, but Ferrer took advantage of his opportunities to break twice more and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Alexander Dolgopolov sent Inigo Cervantes packing as he fought back back from a set down for a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory. Cervantes only dropped five points on serve in the opening set, but he could not keep that level up for long. Dolgopolov would break him three times in the second set and once more in the third to wrap up the victory in two hours and 23 minutes. Cervantes only won two points on his own serve in the second set. The Ukrainian buckled down on serve over the last two sets. After dropping the opener, he would not allow another break point opportunity in the match.
Other Results
It was a good day for the Argentinians as Frederico Delbonis and Guido Pella both advanced in nearly identical beat downs. Delbonis beat Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-0, while Pella defeated Santiago Giraldo 6-4, 6-0. Pablo Cuevas broke the hearts of the home fans when he took out Thiago Monteiro, the Brazilian who had upset Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round in straight sets. There are now no home-nation hopes left in the draw.
Weather permitting, the quarterfinals will take place on Friday. David Ferrer will kick off the action, which will conclude with a blockbuster between Rafael Nadal and Alexandr Dolgopolov.